


The Lioness and Her Lord

by turuneshaquila



Series: The Lioness [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Married Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28479414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turuneshaquila/pseuds/turuneshaquila
Summary: Set a few years after Lioness, this is a collection of non-chronological stories about the Lioness and her crime lord husband.
Series: The Lioness [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086068





	1. Chapter 1

“Alright, spill.”

The Manager finished his boxing set and looked up at the Lord. “Spill what?”

“How did you manage the Lioness?”

“Oh, God. I never did.”

“I give her a file, tell her where we’re going and who we’re meeting, and she dresses in boots and backless because she feels like it. And once she ignored me the whole night to talk to a Northern Prince!”

“That’s because you expected to marry the Lioness.”

“Didn’t I?”

“No, you married Stella Razon. The single most rebellious escort our agency had the misfortune to know.”

The Lord thought about it. “Then why is she the Lioness?”

“She wanted something, and she got it. Thing is, without a battlefield, the Lioness is just . . .”

“A child?”

“I was about to say, the single worst investment you will ever make.”

The Lord sat down on a side bench. “She’s not even trying.”

“She is. She’s trying to be good. She’s trying to be on your side.”

“She’s utterly failing!”

“She doesn’t do so well in peacetime. Give her a battle to fight.”

“What battle? She doesn’t seem interested in mine!”

“You told her you would protect her and keep her from harm all her life. She’s trying to help you do that.”

“It would be nice if I could protect her from my frustration.”

“Then give her a battle to fight. Here’s a hint. She doesn’t actually like to strategize. What she really does best is protect people. That made her an excellent strategist, because if she lost, the deal was off.”

The Lord cocked an eyebrow. “Well then. Let’s see if I can get an adequate ROI from this wildcat.”


	2. What Does A Lioness Want?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lioness shocks her lord with a mad answer to his husbandly question.

“Twelve sons.”

The Lord stared at his wife for much longer than the requisite twelve seconds. Then he bit his lip and laughed. “Are you pulling my leg?”

The Lioness avoided his eyes and stared straight forward. “I’ve spent the last seven years unable to get whatever it is I wanted before. I’m not so sure of what that is anymore, or what it looked like. I remember I wanted twelve sons.”

The Lord pushed away his laughter, which had been a defense mechanism in any case, and spoke. “You have resources, and you have mobility. Anything you feel like doing, anything on earth—try it out. You might find what you want again.”

“What if it means adopting?”

“Can we get to it when we get to it?”

“We can do that.”

“Good.”


	3. The Settlement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lioness does not take kindly to contracts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came out of nowhere. Sorry if it makes no sense.

“You want to agree to the settlement? Whatever my family thought before they met you, they will just believe it even more!”

“I’ve spent seven years with a contract hanging over my head. I don’t have the time, or the energy, to live the rest of my life under another one!”

“So that’s it, you’ll just take the settlement.”

“I fought seven years to give my girls a life they could live with, and the freedom to accept it. I’m not going to get into a war of assets or heirs or bloody bank accounts if it could undo everything I’ve done.”

“I swore when I married you that you won’t need to carry it all on your own anymore. Why would you consider doing _this_ alone?”

“Where were you when your entire family ganged up on me?”

“Seeing my grandmother. Sorry, look, I don’t see so much of my family either!”

“Well I was in a room and they are either going to hold a marriage contract and a property distribution agreement over my head or give me a generous divorce settlement. One is not like the other.”

“Except that we agreed to do this together.”

“I didn’t sign it yet.”

“It shouldn’t even be in the room.”

The Lioness studied her lord’s eyes. “Okay then.”

The Lord took the settlement and clipped it up. “Why use a shredder when you have a _tanto_?”

The Lioness laughed out loud and they slashed the contract up together.

“I know you’ve trusted yourself for a long time. But let us face my family together. If I let you down in any way, I’ll rewrite that contract and triple the settlement.”

“Instead of doing that, can you give us a jet? With fueling privileges?”

“Sure, but that’s not going to happen, because the settlement won’t happen, because I won’t let you down. So instead of one jet you’ll have access to all of ours, and I’ll always pay for the fuel. Okay?”

The Lioness wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. “Okay.”


	4. 1st Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lion gives the Lioness a gift she's always wanted.

“Welcome.” The Lion opened the door to Richard Ilytian, the Lioness’s first client when she entered the underground as a strategist escort.

“I’m surprised at the invitation, sir, but it’s good to meet you.”

“She’s a sentimental being, so I know she’ll be pleased.”

Some of the staff took Richard Ilytian’s cape and scarf, then that of Darren Volaré and his cousins, who had accompanied him.

Darren Volaré and the Lion studied one another, half-amused, half-aggressively.

“I heard you gave the Lioness a hard time,” the Lion said.

“I heard you married her,” Darren said.

Richard looked from one to the other.

“Oh, this is _hot_! Don’t stop.” The Lioness shot into Richard’s arms to give him a hug. Turning, one arm still around the shoulder of the very confused Ilytian, she watched the Lion and Darren. “Go on!”

“Doing what, exactly?” Richard asked.

“I have no idea, but wouldn’t it be interesting?”

Richard stared at her face. “I didn’t know you could smile like this.”

“I was a slave when you met me. It’s nice to meet you as myself. I’m Stella.”

“Richard, I think.”

Darren Volaré stepped forward and kissed the Lioness’s hand. “Darren Volaré, at your service.”

“Awww! That’s sweet. But thank you. Welcome to our home.”

Richard was still staring at the Lioness’s boots and high-waisted, loose-hipped trousers. “You’d get kicked out of the underground if you were with any of us, but as far as I know you’re still blowing up the world.”

“A Lioness found her Lion. Ha! Are you blushing yet?” She teased the Lion. “Let’s go!” She led the way into the inner part of the house.

It was somewhat old-fashioned in that spaces were created all over where people could cluster in twos, threes, eights if they liked. It would have looked rather too big for its own comfort if there were not children in every nook and cranny. And on every railing and banister.

“So you’ve become domestic,” Darren said to the Lioness, as a human cannonball launched himself into her arms from somewhere a few feet above her.

The Lioness swung him around, and let him fly into Darren’s arms. “Somewhat. This is a battlefield of its own.”

They made their way into a drawing room, where there were less children and more guests. From there, they went to the dining hall, which was big enough for a fair-sized party.

The Lion stood up and asked for silence. “I know many of you wondered why you received an invitation to our 1st wedding anniversary, and the truth is my wife wouldn’t stop drawing up her dream wedding guest list. And you, all of you, people that she met over the course of her time as the Lioness, were on it. Thank you all for helping me check off that guest list. But of course, you are only about half of the people on that list.”

The Lioness’s smile began to disappear, and she looked almost stricken.

“My lady, please welcome the second part of my gift.”

The Lioness turned her head, and her face went determinedly blank. Without her noticing, since she was in front, they had populated the empty part of the room with a whole lot of people. She counted them off in her mind, since she knew her own wedding list by heart, then got up and threw herself into her parents’ arms.

The other side of the room applauded and didn’t stop as the Lioness strove to greet everyone there, people from the first half of her life whom she had not seen in nearly a decade.

The Lion collapsed into a chair. “Oh good,” he said to Richard Ilytian. I didn’t know if she’d be happy or if she’d murder me.”

“She might still murder you later,” Richard consoled him.


End file.
